Wedding Details

Ceremony: Congregation Keter Torah

Reception: Congregation Keter Torah

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Real Wedding Description

Normally the appearance of an ambulance at a wedding is a bad sign. But not for Yael and Ariel who met volunteering for the ambulance service in Teaneck, NJ. So before all of the guests arrived and became worried a Teaneck ambulance made an impromptu stop for the portrait session.

Repeat clients tend to be an oddity in the wedding photography profession, except if it is the parent that is hiring you (a common occurrence in the orthodox Jewish world). In that case I have had the honor of photographing three weddings of Yael’s family, one years before and the other earlier that summer. We have a few years yet to wait on the fourth. It is one of the great pleasures of photographing weddings that we are able to participate in such momentous occasions with families, and more so when we experience it multiple times with the same family.

Keter Torah is a wonderful place to photograph the modern orthodox Jewish wedding. The grounds have a nice wooded area for portraits. The sanctuary is large and open. And, the hundreds of people that attend these simchas never feel crowded, in a bad way, during the tish, bedecken, or dancing.

Yael and Ariel’s chuppah included a few sephardic traditions that the ashkenazi are not as familiar with. For one they forgo the ash on the forehead. They do add the beautiful tradition of smelling something beautiful, in their case rose water, under the chuppah. What an idea, to start your new family, to celebrate your union with a sweet aroma to overwhelm the senses!

After the sheva berachot (seven blessings) were recited at the end Yael and Ariel started their new lives together surrounded by friends and family.